Last evening, I had a scary experience, though not so much for me. While playing with Jordan, I heard yelling down the street. I looked outside, but saw nothing. A few minutes later I heard it again, and this time Brian had opened the window and said he could actually hear people hitting/punching each other. As a member of the local crime watch, I did what I should do: I called 911.
I could hear the call being recording, which kind of freaked me out. But what made me stop cold was when the 911 operator asked me if there were any weapons. I was several houses away and it was dark, so there was no way I could tell that. But I immediately thought back to last April when the three Pittsburgh police officers were killed responding to a domestic disturbance, thinking there were no weapons. And just last month a Penn Hills police officer was shot to death while sitting in his car, again responding to a disturbance.
As the 911 call was wrapping up, a car with the "fighters" drove away. The reality is, the 911 operator asked me so many questions that too much time had passed for the officers to get there in time (not that anyone knew how long the fight was going to last). I don't blame the operator, though. It is important to get as much info as possible, particularly considering the events of last year. Just a couple of minutes later, four police cars pulled up. That is when I stopped breathing for probably 10 seconds. I know my heart was pounding like crazy.
I knew the guy(s) was gone, but I still could not help wondering if someone in the house had a weapon; maybe they were the people who started the fight. I quickly begged God to keep the officers safe (pleading with God is a pretty rare occurrence in my life, let me tell you); obviously, I would have felt awful if something had happened.
Fortunately, the officers were gone in moments. I have no idea what came about. But I am grateful for their quick response, and I can only hope the people in the house will think twice before getting involved in a fight, not that I know the whole story.
It is a crazy, scary world out there. Sigh.
I could hear the call being recording, which kind of freaked me out. But what made me stop cold was when the 911 operator asked me if there were any weapons. I was several houses away and it was dark, so there was no way I could tell that. But I immediately thought back to last April when the three Pittsburgh police officers were killed responding to a domestic disturbance, thinking there were no weapons. And just last month a Penn Hills police officer was shot to death while sitting in his car, again responding to a disturbance.
As the 911 call was wrapping up, a car with the "fighters" drove away. The reality is, the 911 operator asked me so many questions that too much time had passed for the officers to get there in time (not that anyone knew how long the fight was going to last). I don't blame the operator, though. It is important to get as much info as possible, particularly considering the events of last year. Just a couple of minutes later, four police cars pulled up. That is when I stopped breathing for probably 10 seconds. I know my heart was pounding like crazy.
I knew the guy(s) was gone, but I still could not help wondering if someone in the house had a weapon; maybe they were the people who started the fight. I quickly begged God to keep the officers safe (pleading with God is a pretty rare occurrence in my life, let me tell you); obviously, I would have felt awful if something had happened.
Fortunately, the officers were gone in moments. I have no idea what came about. But I am grateful for their quick response, and I can only hope the people in the house will think twice before getting involved in a fight, not that I know the whole story.
It is a crazy, scary world out there. Sigh.
Comments
A police car drove down our street this evening, even though a plow had not been by since before I got up this a.m. So maybe they are watching our street more; makes me feel better (even though we really do live on safe street, at least according to the stats and how I feel).